OK, this is not the king of all executed sitcoms as far as plot and writing. Craig Nelson and Shelley Fabares made the parts. Their acting was spot on, and they did everything they could do given the dialogue. Some of the plots were very weak. Some of the gems of the series could have fathered paths to go down that could have given more than one episode. One wonders why Barry Kemp chose to use a hit and run technique on the individual episodes, and not the shotgun approach.
Jerry Van Dyke's character was weak. It strained credibility past the breaking point, unless this was part of a Three Stooges film. Jerry Van Dyke had great acting abilities, but the character part they gave him of a moron did not fit several categories. No winning coach team would have not fired him within weeks. His constant bumbling was costly and aggravating, not only for the story line but also for the audience.
Shelley Fabares was perfect. Her acting and appearance and casting was a strong TEN. Dauber / Bill Fagerbakke was also perfect. The character was well written for what it was.
I could have done without the Stuart character and interplay with Kelly. Certainly, had they stuck more to the football side as a docu-comedy and had a lot less soap opera drama, I think this might have made it to classic status. A football show does not have to be full of laughs every minute. Just like romance comedy movies are not all full of belly laughs. The series just tries too hard in episode after episode. I am reminded of the Chuck Lorre production technique of going with the potty humor and the lowest common denominator. So the show can have his daughter in it, but as a side note and not part of the main plots, much like the paradigm, Everybody Loves Raymond. ELR did not revolve around the kids or their love lives. It never crossed over into soap opera territory. Coach always seemed to be straining for the female audience. When you try to please everybody, you wind up pleasing no one.
So why did I watch it? I think I watch it with an editing eye, always looking for what was possible, and how it could have been better. Much like I do when watching Two and a Half Men. They could have done without the Jake part, and a lot of potty humor filled the show out from its main plots.
There were some very seriously funny and interesting episodes. The episodes where Hayden is trying to make Christine pregnant by various doctor visits and medical aids and Troy Aikman. These were funny and surprising and full of great lines. I go back and rewatch certain episodes over and over, much like listening to a favorite oldie song.
Well that's enough of an idea and a critique. It is damned hard to write a consistently funny and interesting show week after week, and they certainly tried for 200 episodes. There is no perfect sitcom. There are hits and misses in all of them. Seinfeld and ELR are no exceptions. It's hard to produce funny on a weekly schedule. A fine effort overall.
As far as the Orlando shows, I liked them very much. I don't think they HAD to go anywhere with the show. I think they could have stayed in Orlando for ten years. There seemed to be a lot of pressure to go deep into the future in the last episodes, much like the mistake Castle and Seinfeld shows made in their finales. And the characters could have driven the plots without moving the football team into championships. Thanks for reading this.
Jerry Van Dyke's character was weak. It strained credibility past the breaking point, unless this was part of a Three Stooges film. Jerry Van Dyke had great acting abilities, but the character part they gave him of a moron did not fit several categories. No winning coach team would have not fired him within weeks. His constant bumbling was costly and aggravating, not only for the story line but also for the audience.
Shelley Fabares was perfect. Her acting and appearance and casting was a strong TEN. Dauber / Bill Fagerbakke was also perfect. The character was well written for what it was.
I could have done without the Stuart character and interplay with Kelly. Certainly, had they stuck more to the football side as a docu-comedy and had a lot less soap opera drama, I think this might have made it to classic status. A football show does not have to be full of laughs every minute. Just like romance comedy movies are not all full of belly laughs. The series just tries too hard in episode after episode. I am reminded of the Chuck Lorre production technique of going with the potty humor and the lowest common denominator. So the show can have his daughter in it, but as a side note and not part of the main plots, much like the paradigm, Everybody Loves Raymond. ELR did not revolve around the kids or their love lives. It never crossed over into soap opera territory. Coach always seemed to be straining for the female audience. When you try to please everybody, you wind up pleasing no one.
So why did I watch it? I think I watch it with an editing eye, always looking for what was possible, and how it could have been better. Much like I do when watching Two and a Half Men. They could have done without the Jake part, and a lot of potty humor filled the show out from its main plots.
There were some very seriously funny and interesting episodes. The episodes where Hayden is trying to make Christine pregnant by various doctor visits and medical aids and Troy Aikman. These were funny and surprising and full of great lines. I go back and rewatch certain episodes over and over, much like listening to a favorite oldie song.
Well that's enough of an idea and a critique. It is damned hard to write a consistently funny and interesting show week after week, and they certainly tried for 200 episodes. There is no perfect sitcom. There are hits and misses in all of them. Seinfeld and ELR are no exceptions. It's hard to produce funny on a weekly schedule. A fine effort overall.
As far as the Orlando shows, I liked them very much. I don't think they HAD to go anywhere with the show. I think they could have stayed in Orlando for ten years. There seemed to be a lot of pressure to go deep into the future in the last episodes, much like the mistake Castle and Seinfeld shows made in their finales. And the characters could have driven the plots without moving the football team into championships. Thanks for reading this.